Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
Pleather is an artificial leather: a fabric or finish intended to substitute for leather in fashion and home décor where real leather is cost-prohibitive or unsuitable. The word is a portmanteau of plastic and leather, coined by Amy Bach while working in New York for Millis clothing, who needed a way to advertise a new plastic leather line without calling it plastic. Artificial leather is also sold as leatherette, faux leather and under brand names such as Naugahyde, and it may be preferred because it is lighter than leather or as an alternative to real hide.
Pleather Fashion Term - Terms of Interest to the Fashion Industry
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According to Wikipedia,
pleather is an artificial
leather, a fabric or finish
that is intended to
substitute
leather in both
fashion and home décor, or
in other instances where a
leather-like finish is
required, but the actual
material is cost-prohibitive
or unsuitable.
Under the name of artificial leather (not to be confused with the more modern term “Pleather,” defined below) or American leather cloth, large quantities of a material having a more or less leather-like surface were once used, principally for upholstery purposes, such as the covering of chairs, lining the tops of writing desks and tables, and beyond.
The term pleather (“plastic leather”) is a slang term for synthetic leather made of plastic. The term was coined by Amy Bach, when working in New York for Millis clothing. Upon the arrival of a new line, a plastic leather, Amy needed a way to advertise the product to customers without calling it plastic. She came up with the term “pleather.” A portmanteau of plastic and leather, the term is sometimes used derogatorily, implying use as a substitute for genuine hide to cut costs. Besides cost, pleather may also be preferred because it is lighter than leather, or as an alternative to real leather citing reasons of animal cruelty.
Pleather, being made of plastic, will not decompose as quickly. Not all pleathers are the same. Polyurethane is washable, can be dry-cleaned and allows some air to flow through the garment while PVC pleather, in contrast, does not “breathe” and is difficult to clean. PVC cannot be dry-cleaned because the cleaning solvents can make the PVC unbearably stiff.
Vegan Leather is an artificial alternative to traditional leather. It may be chosen for ethical reasons or as a designed material which may have different properties, but offers a similar look to the natural material. There is also no difference between vegan leather and artificial leather alternatives, other than being marketed as “Certified Vegan Leather” to target niche consumers and increase company profit margins.
Vegan leathers include:
Vegetan: A microfibre material.
Lorica: Polyurethane and polyamide microfibre by Lorica Sud S.r.l..
Birko-Flor: (Birkenstock) Acrylic and polyamide felt fibres.
Birkibuc: (Birkenstock) Acrylic and polyamide felt fibres; looks and feels like nubuck leather.
PVC: Polyvinyl chloride, (IUPAC Poly(chloroethanediyl)); a thermoplastic polymer.
Kydex: An acrylic-PVC alloy produced by Kleerdex.
Corfam was the centerpiece of the DuPont pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair in New York City. Its major advantages over natural leather were its durability and its high-gloss finish that could be easily cleaned with a damp cloth. Disadvantages included stiffness, which did not loosen with wearing, its relative lack of breathability, and easy confusion with non-breathable cheaper products. DuPont manufactured Corfam at its plant in Old Hickory, Tennessee, from 1964 to 1971. After spending millions of dollars marketing the product to shoe manufacturers, DuPont withdrew Corfam from the market in 1971 and sold the rights to a company in Poland.
Corfam is still used today in some products, an example being certain types of equestrian saddle girth. Corfam shoes are still popular in uniformed professions where shiny shoes are desirable, including the United States Army, which uses Corfam shoes as its standard dress shoe.
Koskin is an artificial leather material commonly found in computer laptop cases. It is commonly used in Hewlett-Packard, Targus and Belkin laptop cases, CD wallets, and other consumer goods. It is made to look and feel like authentic leather.
In Swedish, “koskinn” means cow’s skin (ko means cow, skinn means skin), causing much confusion for consumers.
Leatherette is a form of artificial leather, usually made by covering a fabric base with plastic. The fabric can be made of a natural or a synthetic fibre, which is then covered with a soft PVC layer. Leatherette bound books and 20th century cameras are good examples of leatherette. Leatherette clothing of various kinds (including lingerie) also exist.
A disadvantage of plastic leatherette is that it is not porous and does not allow air to pass through it; thus, sweat can accumulate if it is used for clothing, car seat coverings, and more. One of its primary advantages, especially in cars, is that it requires little maintenance in comparison to leather, and does not crack or fade as easily. During a fire, leatherette may cause serious skin damage, because it burns more vigorously than leather and can melt.
Written for Apparel Search by Regina Cooper February 2011.
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DuPont's Corfam was the centerpiece of the DuPont pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Its advantages over natural leather were durability and a high-gloss finish that could be cleaned with a damp cloth; its disadvantages were stiffness that did not loosen with wearing, relative lack of breathability, and easy confusion with cheaper non-breathable products. DuPont made Corfam in Old Hickory, Tennessee from 1964 to 1971, spent millions marketing it to shoe manufacturers, then withdrew it and sold the rights to a company in Poland. It survives in products such as equestrian saddle girths and in the shiny dress shoes of uniformed professions, including the United States Army's standard dress shoe.
Leatherette is artificial leather made by covering a fabric base — natural or synthetic fiber — with a soft PVC layer; book bindings and 20th-century cameras are classic examples, and leatherette clothing exists as well. Because it is not porous, sweat can accumulate against it, but it needs little maintenance compared with leather and does not crack or fade as easily. Koskin, an artificial leather made to look and feel like authentic hide, is common in laptop cases and CD wallets from makers such as Hewlett-Packard, Targus and Belkin — its name causes confusion in Swedish, where koskinn means cow's skin. This entry was written for Apparel Search by Regina Cooper in February 2011.
Polyurethane pleather is washable, can be dry-cleaned and allows some air to flow through the garment. PVC pleather does not breathe and is difficult to clean — it cannot be dry-cleaned, because the solvents can make the PVC unbearably stiff.
Poromerics are synthetic breathable leather substitutes made from a plastic coating, usually polyurethane, on a fibrous base layer, typically polyester. The term was coined by DuPont from microporous and polymeric; its first poromeric was Corfam, introduced in 1963, and newer poromerics include Clarino, made by Kuraray of Japan.
There is no material difference between vegan leather and other artificial leather alternatives; vegan leather is artificial leather marketed as certified vegan to target niche consumers. Examples include Vegetan microfibre, Lorica, and Birkenstock's Birko-Flor and Birkibuc.